News

• New York State has temporarily banned new, large-scale data centers
• One-year moratorium affects new 50MW+ campuses
• NY wants to assess community, environmental and grid impacts

New York State has banned the construction of new hyperscaler data centers, marking the latest step as mounting local opposition against AI and cloud facilities builds, with communities citing concerns over rising electricity costs, water consumption and other environmental factors,

State Governor Kathy Hochul is responsible for introducing the first statewide moratorium on new campuses, which imposes a one-year pause while the state looks into the environment, energy supply and communities.

Projects that have already been permitted will still continue as expected, but new buildouts will face restrictions and delays until the moratorium is lifted.

The one-year ban buys the state time to evolve regulations to address some of the challenges presented by large hyperscaler data centers, including strained grid supplies, emissions and other environmental impacts, and stresses on local communities.

Under the new ban, campuses that require at least 50MW of electricity will be affected, which for an AI data center isn't all that much. Some of the largest measure power consumption in the hundreds of megawatts, or even gigawatts in the case of high-profile, flagship campuses like OpenAI's Stargate Project.

"[The moratorium] comes as the direct result of immense public pressure from people across the state demanding their elected leaders protect them from Big Tech's assault, which threatens the state's clean air and water and New Yorkers' financial security," New York State's Food & Water Watch Director Laura Shindell said.

"New York has always been at the forefront of innovation and change but we’ve also always guaranteed that New Yorkers benefit," Hochul noted.

Although New York represents the first statewide temporary ban, other regions have also been looking to pause buildouts as they assess the damages. Just last month, Seattle also voted to ban new projects for a year.

AI took enterprises by storm, with many opting for integration as fast as possible in fear of falling behind the more ambitious tech adopters. But speed alone isn’t always an advantage and as a result, 95% of enterprise pilot programs still failed to deliver measurable financial returns just last year.

Now that we’re a few years past the initial AI explosion, the pressure is on to prove true ROI from these projects.

Businesses have most frequently poured resources into AI tools aimed at boosting productivity and automating workflow in hopes to target the most universal, longest standing business goal: doing more with less. But what leaders should be doing is identifying where the technology can solve the biggest issues specific to today’s business climate. One of those issues is cash flow forecasting.

This year, 52% of American CFOs named cost management as their most worrisome internal concern. While a well-oiled cost management strategy remains critical for creating a strong financial cushion and remaining resilient, balancing fixed operations with constantly shifting real world variables is never easy.

As companies increasingly look for ways to remain nimble and improve decision-making, those that can leverage AI to forecast trends in cash flow demand, churn risk, and spending pattern shifts will find themselves on a quicker path to ROI. Doing so requires harnessing the right data, and these financial signals are hidden in the transaction layer.

While businesses have long mined transaction data for traditional analytics and reporting, it’s far under-utilized in AI strategies. There needs to be a shift from viewing these insights as archival records of past performance to real time indicators of what’s to come.

There are several revenue indicators that lie within bottom funnel operations that AI has the ability of turning into actionable insights. From frequently adjusted terms within contract renewals to the average time it’s taking customers to finalize transactions, purchase signals like these can help AI systems make smarter predictions about demand or accounts receivable.

To provide a more granular view into the value of this data layer, let’s look at upgrade or renewal activity for example. Customer retention is a key element to maintaining predictable cash flow and is among the first to go during an economic shakeup.

Tracking accounts that consistently upgrade a product or service on time to see that they suddenly miss a milestone could immediately flag eventual churn risk. These deviations should also be compared across similar accounts to segment risk based on geography, product lines, or size and industry.

From there, leaders can act proactively with strategies like targeted discounts or incentive measures to encourage retention. Alternatively, accounts that are expanding faster than expected could provide predictions into other customers who might be ready for higher value offerings.

Identifying cues like those that often precede cancellations, along with delayed payments, reduced usage, or smaller order size for instance, can equip finance or leadership teams with rolling forecasts. Whereas on the other hand, monthly or quarterly forecasts typically only rely on historical averages and don’t provide the real time guidance needed for a quickly shifting marketplace.

This can manifest into a powerful decision-making engine. One that is dynamic enough to support flexible cost management strategies. Seeing where cash-flow is moving allows leaders to make more informed decisions.

For example, if it’s consistently being found that these customers are upgrading at slower rates then it may be a good indicator to preemptively reduce inventory or relax timelines for product development teams. In turn, leaders can avoid allocating too many resources to demand that may not end up materializing.

This also gives teams more flexibility to adjust spending and production before any cash flow pressure sets in.

An important element to keep in mind is that these purchasing behavior insights often sit across separate systems. While sales teams may have insights into average order values, only legal or finance may know how payment terms are changing across clients.

First mapping where all of these metrics currently live is critical to then unify them into one place for predictive models to cross-analyze everything against each other and make stronger recommendations.

Many businesses have revolved their AI projects around generative AI for efficiency gains in producing content or developing software for instance. But not only are these task-level initiatives harder to prove a measurable impact from, in some cases they end up hurting productivity in the long run with added time spent reviewing and editing AI outputs.

When it comes to analyzing data for forecasting and predictions, AI has shown immense value and is tied to more tangible business outcomes. Now, forecasting real time insights tied directly to revenue can help leaders remain adaptable in an increasingly unpredictable economy, offering a fast track to ROI on these projects.

We've featured the best AI website builders.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

A new customer booking system, a bespoke CRM, or an app that can be sold as a new revenue stream. Small businesses are rarely short of great ideas, but often lack the time, funding, or technical expertise to go from idea to functional app.

This is the gap that vibe coding aims to fill, helping small businesses launch apps by combining plain English prompts with AI.

I caught up with Yoav Orlev, Head of Product at Base44, to get some insight into how small businesses can get the most out of vibe coding platforms. We also discuss some of the common pitfalls and risks associated with vibe coding and how to overcome them.

The same quality output without the same budget

Instead of needing to know how to build an application, small business owners can just describe what they want and it gets built. They’re essentially having a conversation with AI instead of wrestling with tools, templates, or code. There are significant advantages to vibe-coding, including:

Removing the “gatekeepers"

Previously, a small business owner who wanted a professional website had two options: pay a developer (expensive) or spend hours learning code (time-consuming). Vibe coding collapses both into a single conversation. A florist, a personal trainer, a local accountant, anyone can now describe their business and get a professional application without any technical knowledge.

Speed to market changes everything

A small business can go from idea to functional application in minutes, not weeks. For a new business owner, that's the difference between launching now and launching never.

Iteration becomes effortless

Want to change your text? Swap your color scheme? Add an agent? Instead of digging through menus or calling a developer, you just type what you want changed via natural conversion. Small businesses can now move and adapt as fast as their ideas do.

The playing field levels out

Enterprise businesses have had dev teams, agencies, and big wallets for years. Vibe coding gives small businesses access to the same quality output without the same budget. This is a significant shift, letting smaller businesses compete with larger ones.

Vibe coding means that for the first time, the barrier to having a custom application is no longer technical skill or budget. That's a meaningful unlock for millions of small business owners who previously felt locked out of the growing digital economy.

Users are now not operating a tool but collaborating with one.

Drag-and-drop was a genuine breakthrough. It opened up web creation to anyone, regardless of technical skill or budget constraints. Users needed to know what they wanted, where to put it, and how to make it look right, but they had more access and guidance than ever before.

Vibe coding starts the create-and-build process with a conversation. Users describe their business and goals, and the platform builds around that. It's a fundamentally different kind of interaction than drag-and-drop. Users are now not operating a tool but collaborating with one.

Vibe coding isn't here to replace drag-and-drop, and that's an important distinction. Both have real advantages. Vibe coding wins on speed and ease of use. Drag-and-drop gives users precision and hands-on creative control. The real breakthrough for small businesses is having both working together seamlessly by describing what they need, letting AI get there fast, then fine-tuning the details manually without ever switching platforms or starting over.

That combination is what gives small businesses a truly holistic way to build and grow an online presence. Less time building and more time focusing on their business.

A first prompt doesn't need to be perfect. Get something on the screen, react to it, and refine from there.

The best place to start is with the problem, not the solution.

Before opening any tool or writing a single prompt, an entrepreneur should get specific about what's actually slowing their business down. Is it taking bookings manually over the phone? Chasing invoices? Answering the same customer questions over and over? The clearest prompts come from the clearest problems.

When it comes to writing a good prompt, specificity is everything.

A weak prompt sounds like "build me a website for my business." A strong prompt sounds like "I run a mobile dog grooming service in Chicago with three employees. I need a way for customers to book appointments online, see my pricing by dog size, and get automatic confirmation texts."

The more context users give, such as industry, customer, specific workflow, and the outcome that’s trying to be achieved, the more useful the result. Think of it less like a search query and more like briefing a new hire on their first day. The AI works best when it understands not just what you want, but why you need it.

From there, iteration is your best friend. A first prompt doesn't need to be perfect. Get something on the screen, react to it, and refine from there. The most effective builders treat it as a back-and-forth conversation rather than a one-shot request.

The range of tools small businesses are building with vibe coding is remarkable. We're seeing everything from custom booking and scheduling systems, to lightweight CRM and lead tracking tools, client-facing portals, invoice generators, staff onboarding wikis, loyalty program trackers, and more.

The most valuable apps tend to be the ones replacing a manual process that was quietly costing the business time or customers. Custom booking systems are one standout. For service-based businesses, time is the product, and a system built around their exact workflow has a direct and immediate impact on revenue. Lightweight CRM tools are another reason because most small businesses aren't losing customers due to bad service; they're losing them because follow-up falls through the cracks. A tool built around how they actually sell, rather than how generic software thinks they should, makes all the difference.

The common thread is fit. What makes vibe coding genuinely powerful for small businesses is that they can build exactly what they need and tailored for them, rather than settling for something “close enough.” That's a shift that levels the playing field in a very real way.

Absolutely! This where vibe coding starts to look less like a productivity tool and more like a genuine business accelerator. The same technology that helps a small business automate internal processes can also help them build entirely new products, services, and revenue streams that simply weren't accessible before without a development budget.

The examples are wide-ranging. A personal trainer can go beyond selling sessions and build a branded fitness app where clients track workouts and access custom programs, turning a one-to-one service into a scalable product. A marketing consultant can build a self-serve audit tool that generates leads while they sleep. A local chef can launch a meal planning subscription with a custom interface rather than relying on a third-party platform that takes a cut of every transaction. A retailer can build a personalized product recommendation quiz that increases average order value without touching their core website.

What all of these have in common is that they were previously only realistic for businesses with developer resources and big pockets. Vibe coding changes that entirely. The barrier to launching a new revenue stream is no longer technical and costly. It's just having the idea and the ambition to act on it.

1. If possible, try to break down your request into smaller pieces. Sometimes, when trying to add too many features at once, the agent makes a mistake.
2. If something doesn't work at first, be very specific and clear. In many cases, it can also be helpful to state what the AI shouldn't do. For example, tell AI to change the layout, but make sure not to change any colors in the app.
3. Almost all vibe coding platforms allow users to revert. So if you are failing to add something 3 or 4 times in a row, then revert to the last successful version and try in a slightly different way.
4. Search the tool documentation. There are usually many examples and “how tos” that can carry you over a certain hurdle.

There are 2 main pitfalls we see.

1. Not giving your product to users. We talk to a lot of users who keep building more and more features, since it's so easy, yet they hold off releasing the product, fearing it's too early. Don't. AI is all about moving as fast as possible. If you have a working product that will help someone, put it in the hands of users and get feedback as quickly as possible. Worry less about the perfect product and more about usage.
2. Security is huge. Most tools nowadays offer security scans, but as a builder, make sure you take the time to really understand how the scan works, what it covers, and what issues you might face. Most tools will cover you, but only if you know how to leverage them. Take the time to learn it or consult someone who can walk you through it.

• The UK is proposing a social media curfew for ages 16 and 17
• Access would be blocked from midnight to 6am by default
• However, teens will be able to change these settings if they wish

Having already announced plans to ban under-16s from social media apps early next year, the UK government is now proposing a midnight social media curfew for young people aged 16 and 17 — though parents seem less impressed with this latest idea.

As reported by the BBC, the suggested curfew would run between midnight and 6am, and would be combined by certain "addictive" features being disabled in apps like Instagram and TikTok at any time of day. Those features would include infinite scroll, for example, and videos auto–playing when loaded.

The measures will be "crucial in helping young people get the sleep they need, focus on school and college, and spend more quality time with family and friends," according to Technology Secretary Liz Kendall. They're also intended to provide a gentler 'on ramp' to these apps for kids turning 16, having previously not had any access.

Changes are also going to be enforced for AI chatbots, which will be required to encourage regular breaks for under-18s, and to have safeguards in place to prevent "dangerous, misleading, or unverified mental health advice" from appearing. The moves are being made after a pilot scheme involving more than 300 teenagers and their families.

There's not much detail in the government's announcement, so questions around mechanisms and timing have yet to be answered. It's possible the target date for this is the same as the under-16s social media ban – springtime (March, April, May) in the UK.

What's different to the social media ban is that the curfew timings and the removal of addictive features are going to be optional. While app developers will be told by the government to have these restrictions in place by default, teenagers will have the option to disable them if they wish.

Reactions on Reddit suggest the measures will end up being "ineffective and useless", with one poster comparing it to speed limit warnings for cars — very easy to ignore. Commenters also point out that this may require more age verification, and that existing parental control tools already exist to block social media access for kids at certain times.

"How is it any of the government's business what time anyone uses social media?" reads one post, while another calls into question allowing 16-year-olds to join the army but not letting them on social media past midnight.

• Microsoft deleted a user’s OneDrive account after it was compromised
• This resulted in the loss of 25 years’ worth of photos and games
• The incident is a reminder to use multiple backup solutions

How much do you have stored in your Microsoft account? Consider all the photos and documents backed up to OneDrive, the games and apps linked to your username, and all the rest. Many of us have a lot stored there, but as one Microsoft user recently found out, it can all be taken away in an instant — with Microsoft itself doing the deleting.

Posting on X, Joshua Khane related how a recent hack of their account led to Microsoft taking the nuclear option and removing 25 years’ worth of data, including photos of their infant son and “thousands of Euros spent on games.”

Khane shared an email from Microsoft explaining that, since “unauthorized access occurred” on their account — meaning a likely compromise by hackers — “we have permanently suspended the account.” Microsoft confirmed that “this action is irreversible … Additionally, if you had files stored in OneDrive, those files are no longer accessible. Due to encryption and privacy safeguards, even our engineers cannot retrieve them.”

The move left Khane incensed, with the disbelieving user condemning Microsoft’s decision not to restore their account: “One of the biggest companies ever couldn’t do that so they just deleted that sh*t like it was nothing??”

“Even though the security could be tighter from my side (lessons are learned),” they added, “it bothers me the most that Microsoft says that they cannot recover my account and suspended it … Thousands of Euros are gone down the drain as I’ve lost all my games also! Couldn’t back those up and I relied on Microsoft to keep that safe, even if I got compromised!”

After the saga was posted on Reddit, other users chimed in with similar stories of their own. “Happened to me also,” said one user. “I had payment proof and everything going back 20 years. They said sorry, best we can do is lock your account for good.”

Another had a piece of advice for Khane: “When this happened to me, I created the new account and sent an email to them (on the same thread) with the new account info. They basically cloned the old account into the new one and I got everything back.” Elsewhere, many users recommended Khane take legal action against Microsoft.

If you want to avoid a similar fate, it’s important that you don’t just back up your important documents to one source — be that cloud storage like OneDrive or an external storage drive. If something goes wrong, your only copy has vanished into the ether.

Instead, build redundancy into your backups. Use a cloud backup service like Backblaze and a local NAS or offline archive drive. If possible, ensure your backups are in different physical locations, including one off the premises.

As Redditor Linesey rightly suggested, “Get a NAS, get an off-site location like a safe deposit box for cold storage, and then use the cloud if you really want to, as another layer.” That way, you’ve got at least one fallback option if a firm like Microsoft decides to delete your data without warning.

It’s also worth setting up passkeys and multi-factor authentication on your accounts and using one of the best password managers to strengthen and store all your logins. That way, you make it harder for bad actors to gain access to your account — and less tempting for Microsoft to hit the big red button, with irreversible consequences.

• Microsoft’s July 2026 Patch Tuesday fixed a record 622 vulnerabilities, including 58 critical, two exploited in the wild, and one publicly disclosed, plus 428 Chromium bugs
• Actively abused flaws include CVE‑2026‑56155 (AD FS privilege escalation) and CVE‑2026‑56164 (SharePoint privilege escalation), alongside notable issues in BitLocker and Copilot
• Surge in fixes is linked to Microsoft’s use of Anthropic’s Mythos AI, with patch volumes rising sharply since its adoption

Microsoft has released its July 2026 Patch Tuesday download, marking another record-breaking update, addressing hundreds of flaws across the ecosystem.

The release, which is currently rolling out to Microsoft users, fixes a staggering 622 vulnerabilities, including 58 critical-severity ones, two that were observed as being abused in the wild, and one which has already been publicly disclosed.

On top of that, Microsoft shipped fixes for another 428 Chromium bugs, as well.

There are simply too many vulnerabilities to mention all of them, however two that are being exploited in the wild are CVE-2026-56155 and CVE-2026-56164. The former is described as an “Insufficient granularity of access control in Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS)” bug, which allows an authorized attacker to elevate privileges locally. It carries a severity score of 7.8/10 (high).

The latter is a “Missing authentication for critical function in Microsoft Office SharePoint” bug that allows an unauthorized attacker to elevate privileges over a network. Microsoft assigned it a medium severity score (5.3/10), but the National Vulnerability Database gave it a 9.8/10 (critical).

Other notable mentions include CVE-2026-50661, a protection mechanism failure in Windows BitLocker that allows unauthorized attackers to bypass a security feature with a physical attack, and CVE-2026-48561, an improper neutralization of special elements used in a command in Microsoft Copilot, that allows an unauthorized attacker to execute code over a network.

If you think fixing 622 vulnerabilities in a month is a lot, you’re absolutely right. It’s well above what Microsoft is used to do, and this is most likely due to the company now using the fabled Mythos - Anthropic’s cybersecurity-oriented AI.

In June 2026, roughly a month and a half after the release of Mythos, Microsoft fixed 206 flaws, which raised eyebrows because it was significantly above the company’s usual amount of bugs fixed.

In May it fixed 120 flaws, in April 167, and in March - 79.

• 'Managed' accounts let parents create a Spotify experience for their child
• Once reserved for Premium Family accounts, it is now rolling out to all
• Managed accounts are music-only with no messages, but do get Wrapped

Fed up with waiting for your Wrapped roundup only to find KPop Demon Hunters is claiming the top spot again — and it most certainly would not be down to you?

Great news: Spotify is expanding its Managed account service (which the big green streaming machine launched around two years ago, within its paid-for Family subscriptions) to the Free, ad-supported service.

This gives young listeners a chance to have their own personalized Spotify experience (including their own Wrapped summary), but within what Spotify calls a "focused, music-only experience".

With Managed accounts (which must be set up by an adult 'Account manager', usually a parent or guardian), young listeners can create their own playlists and receive tailored recommendations for new music. Yes, our favorite Daylist feature, plus a Wrapped summary at the end of each year, are both onboard.

The company tells me that while 90% of parents using Spotify agree that listening to music on the platform is a good use of their children's time (versus only a third of parents when asked the same question about gaming), parents don't really want their Wrapped playlists influenced by their nine-year-old.

Spotify also reports that more than 70% of kids now listen to music every week, but that children asking their parents to play a favorite track (often a lot) can cause family friction — especially when children might be fighting for airtime with a sibling, or just completely ignoring what mom might want to listen to in the car.

As the image above shows, the process for creating a Managed account is straightforward using the 'Add account' tab. As any parent in the UK knows, plans are well underway for a social media ban for under-16s, so this can only be seen as a wise and welcome move from Spotify.

The basics are this: as well as Spotify's filters for explicit lyrics or content, parents and guardians can manually filter out content, and manage playback for specific artists or tracks.

Video and Canvas looping visuals are also always off by default for managed accounts. During its initial rollout, Spotify says 60% of parents chose to keep video content switched off, which is why in this wider rollout — it is coming to 17 markets globally today — it's off by default.

Additionally, the default features of Managed accounts mean that they are automatically set to private and are unsearchable, with no profile photos (just avatars), and young listeners will not have access to messages.

Spotify tells me that Managed accounts are typically for children aged 7-12, who are not yet ready for a full account but who want to establish their identity and explore a love of music themselves, via their own managed account.

Again, Managed accounts are music only right now, i.e., no podcasts, video or audiobooks. But Spotify says the experience will evolve as the company continues to work closely with parents as well as Spotify's team of six external partners, including the Spotify Safety Advisory Council.

Does your child need their own phone? No, there’s a device switching option, which locks the account holder’s content with a PIN, so the holder of the Managed account can start to stream away with both the default and added controls and filters deployed.

And when your children grow up (it happens so fast!), what then? Once a child reaches the minimum age for their respective market, they can put in a 'request’ to the main account holder to be upgraded to a full account. Once the owner of a Managed account turns 18, that young person can change their own account to a regular one — so no playlist gets left behind.

Every day, millions of people type a web address into their browser, usually in a flurry of rapid keystrokes, and arrive exactly where they intended.

However, a small but significant number of people don’t.

They might miss a letter, type an extra letter in their haste, or get some letters mixed up. Instead of hitting linkedin[.]com, they hit linkdein[.]com. Those mistakes gave way to one of the internet’s least glamorous destinations – the parked domain.

Most internet users have encountered them at some point, even if they didn't know what they were looking at. Typically, a parked domain would just be a sparse, messy page filled with adverts and a search bar with very little else.

They existed because someone, somewhere, recognized that in the early days of the internet a percentage of users would inevitably mistype a popular website – so they registered the most similar-looking domain names for themselves in a move known as “typosquatting” and earned advertising revenue from the resulting traffic.

If just 0.1% of the millions of people accessing amazon[.]com accidentally went to the amazn[.]com domain they’d bought, that’s still a worthwhile payday. It was a mundane corner of the digital economy, built on convenience, coincidence, and the occasional typo.

History can be a harsh teacher, but it can also sow complacency. In 2026, a lot of security teams still regard parked domains as little more than lazy digital billboards – inconvenient and annoying, but not a meaningful security concern.

However, the infrastructure surrounding parked domains has evolved considerably from the amateurish, pop-up-ridden advertising pages of the early internet. What was once a simple case of opportunistic domain monetization now sits inside a far more complex ecosystem of advertisers, brokers, and traffic distribution networks.

In many cases, a user's accidental visit no longer ends on a parked page at all. Instead, it triggers a journey through a chain of intermediaries operating largely out of sight. Somewhere along that journey, legitimate advertising can give way to fraud, scams, and malware distribution.

In other words, one of the web's most familiar and overlooked mechanisms has become one of the most lucrative and insidious vehicles for cybercrime.

The transformation of parked domains from digital curiosities into cybersecurity risks has been subtle, and that’s one of the reasons it’s so dangerous. For decades, the model followed the same patterns – a user would land on a parked domain, see a collection of banners, click on something accidental or otherwise, and generate a small amount of revenue for the domain owner.

It was cynical, but at least it was transparent because users could at least see where they had ended up and decide for themselves what to do next – usually just close the tab and go where they meant to. The only real danger here came from the occasional misleading or malicious ad rather than the mechanics of the domain itself.

Today things are different. Changes within the online advertising industry, including tighter policies around traditional domain monetization, have encouraged cybercriminals and fraudsters to try new approaches to keep the train of monetization moving.

Increasingly, users who arrive at a parked domain don't encounter a parked page at all. Instead, they’re immediately redirected elsewhere through a process known as “zero-click advertising”, sometimes referred to as direct search.

What appears to be a simple typo can trigger a rapid auction in which a user's visit is bought, sold, and passed between multiple advertising partners before they ever see a destination website. Most of this activity unfolds in fractions of a second and entirely beyond the user's view, and while many of those transactions remain legitimate, the sheer complexity of the ecosystem creates opportunities for abuse.

Somewhere within that chain, traffic can be acquired by actors whose interests extend far beyond advertising revenue, opening the door to scams, malware, fraudulent software, and a host of other malicious outcomes.

One of the reasons parked domain abuse is still underestimated and difficult to pin down is that the attack path rarely follows a straight line. When most people imagine a cyberattack, they picture a malicious website waiting at the end of a link, ready to ensnare an unsuspecting user.

But in this case, by the time a user reaches the content they're ultimately shown, their traffic may have already passed through a maze of advertising exchanges, brokers, redirectors, and cloaking services.

Each participant sees only a fragment of the overall journey, making it remarkably difficult for the “good guys” to determine which “bad guys” are responsible for what. It’s a little like trying to investigate a crime scene where the evidence constantly rearranges itself.

The cowardly threat actors involved in this type of cybercrime exploit this ambiguity. They use sophisticated cloaking techniques which allow them to examine visitors before deciding which content to serve up – where are they based? What kind of browser are they using? What operating system is their device running?

A security researcher in California might see a harmless landing page, while a finance broker in London might be served up a credential harvesting scam. This selective delivery makes malicious activity harder to detect and even harder to reproduce.

What’s worse, parked domain abuse is rarely aimed at a specific industry or organization. The actors deploying parked domains are usually financially motivated, and their primary interest is in acquiring traffic, so they’re not going to discriminate.

Once they’ve ensnared a victim, they become a commodity moving through an invisible marketplace where every click has value and every redirection creates another opportunity for exploitation.

So where does all of this leave defenders? Parked domain abuse doesn’t behave like a conventional cyber threat. While security teams are used to investigating suspicious websites, malicious files, or compromised accounts that leave a relatively obvious trail, parked domain campaigns are different because the underlying traffic distribution is constantly changing.

The same typo domain can send one user down an entirely different path than the next. By the time an analyst attempts to recreate what a victim experienced, the route may no longer exist and any “evidence” has effectively evaporated. How do they defend against something they can't see or recreate?

One thing is guaranteed – regardless of how many redirects, intermediaries, cloaking systems, or advertising platforms sit between the initial typo and the final destination, every step in the journey depends on the domain name system (DNS). Often described as the internet's address book, DNS is responsible for translating domain names into the destinations users ultimately reach.

Put simply, each lookup leaves behind a breadcrumb that helps reveal relationships that would otherwise remain hidden, and that visibility has allowed researchers investigating typosquatted versions of well-known domains to follow the trail beyond the initial deception. Patterns start to emerge between seemingly unrelated cases of malware, involving the same parking providers, cloaking services, and traffic distribution infrastructure.

By examining historical DNS records and mapping the relationships between domains over time, it has become possible to connect incidents that appear to be unrelated and expose the networks operating behind them. Instead of playing “whack a mole” and chasing surface level domains, DNS mapping has allowed defenders to target the entire machine.

The greatest danger posed by parked domains isn't the typo itself, but the assumption that the infrastructure behind that typo is benign. For years, parked domains occupied a strange corner of the internet, largely ignored by security teams and rarely considered worthy of serious scrutiny.

But today, they offer cybercriminals something far more valuable than advertising revenue – access to legitimate systems, trusted business models, and vast streams of user traffic that can be manipulated and monetized at scale.

As threat actors continue to refine their use of cloaking, traffic distribution, and advertising networks, the distinction between legitimate online activity and malicious activity will become increasingly difficult to spot from the outside.

Protect yourself against malware with the best antivirus software.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit

As the common phrase goes – ‘patience is a virtue’. The ability to endure, wait and yield to time without complaint is widely seen as a positive personality trait. Yet patience is situational, and everyone has a limit.

In a customer service context, people will wait longer when the stakes are high, or when they trust that delays will lead to better security, accuracy or care. If they’re dealing with another human, they also tend to be far more forgiving.

Alongside that limited patience, customers are also increasingly distracted. The average Brit now sits on over 1,000 unread emails in their inbox, according to recent research, alongside juggling around 25 non-work notifications a day.

People are not short of communication, but saturated. Attention is at a premium, and anything irrelevant is quickly deprioritized or disappears entirely.

This is particularly acute for the 36-55-year-old cohort, which boast the highest unread email counts, and the greatest pressure to stay online for work. Two-fifths of 36-50-year-olds say they feel more disconnected than ever, despite increased digital interactions.

Balancing careers, caregiving, mortgages and performance metrics, the attention and mental load on this group is significant. If brands are adding irrelevant noise and difficulty into these environments, tolerance is low.

This simultaneous feeling of burnout and impatience is heightened by the fact that the instant nature of the attention economy, and the incentives of digital platforms, has rewired expectations.

If there is no sense of progress or urgency conveyed with a digital service, then reassurance falls away and the chances someone will give up on the process rapidly increases. Clear, proactive explanations, combined with customer experience design that maintains continuity across every channel and interaction are vital.

Digital saturation and the attention economy have also meant that first impressions are decisive. If in those initial moments of engagement there is any sense of delay or stalling, people will reconsider if they need the product or service in the first place.

These early moments are therefore a critical opportunity to build seamless customer journeys, closing these ‘patience deficits’ by finding and fixing areas that cause frustration. When there are unavoidable moments where waiting is required, brands must turn these into opportunities to strengthen loyalty and trust.

Customers want assurance that every click, confirmation or verification step serves a purpose. Uncertainty is the true enemy of patience, so give customers better visibility and control to help build trust.

Other industry research found that 25% of consumers there think ‘transparency about what’s happening and why’ is one of the most important things to them in a digital customer experience, with 45% valuing clear instructions and easy-to-follow steps. If there’s an action they don’t need to take or unnecessary duplication, remove it.

Poor design can lead to digital impatience, and exacerbate the overload of digital admin. Ensure that digital and automated channels are fast, reliable and transparent when it comes to waiting times. Competitive advantage will come from being the most considered, not the loudest.

At the same time, when customers know brands are protecting their data, there is an opportunity to earn patience through careful application of friction. Digital speed bumps like two-factor authentication, framed in the right way, can become symbols of care, not inconvenience – so in designing the customer journey, brands should take advantage.

The reality of digital patience is made more complex by the fact that more people are interacting with machines for customer service than ever before. AI agents, designed and used effectively, have raised expectations – but when AI gets stuck, misunderstands intent or is otherwise poorly designed, it backfires and becomes counterproductive. In those moments, many of us prefer to just talk to a human.

The purpose and context of interactions matter, so organizations must take care to match automation to the complexity and stakes of each task. Examine which tasks are best for AI agents to take on, and be clear about when AI is in use, explaining its role in plain language.

For those tasks which require more reassurance, empathy and accountability, human alternatives may be preferable. In these situations, we tend to be slightly more patient – 84% will stay patient on the phone with a real person, perhaps because we know we’re more likely to be able to connect on a human level, and get some understanding and reassurance in response to our enquiry.

If a service is too slow, however, then more than half of consumers say that delays lead them to think less of a brand, leave negative reviews, or warn others to steer clear.

Brands should provide the choice of human support and digital self-service tools in a way that reflects these dynamics. When switching between the two, brands should also carry context over, so that customers never need to repeat themselves.

Digital patience is a precious resource. Poor design which frustrates and builds impatience can see it easily lost, but with care, it is equally easy to earn. When brands anticipate frustration and design for reassurance, they convert fleeting attention into enduring trust, and find opportunities to strengthen relationships and loyalty.

We've featured the best ecommerce platform.

This article was produced as part of TechRadar Pro Perspectives, our channel to feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today.

The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/pro/perspectives-how-to-submit